Honing (Vosh's training)

[Brand]

Sweat.

It annoyed Vosh. His fur was drenched, and his eyes stung, but he continued on. The massive Togorian batted blaster bolts from his path, attempting to deflect them back towards their original targets. The small orbs floated around Vosh, ever swirling and moving.

These opponents were tough. Vosh prided himself on physical strength, constitution, and physical fitness, but after twenty minutes his muscles ached. Vosh called on the Force, summoning up a strength that was not of his own accord.

"The Force, fights with me," he murmured to himself, attempting to ignore the pain. He focused on the now, getting through the next minute. He took each bolt blocked as a small victory, and attuned himself to the Force as best he could. Even as a Padawan he felt empowered when he was twirling his lightsaber and sustaining himself on his only true ally.

A minute passed, Vosh holding his ground. He was startled as a door swooshed open, his momentary distraction costing him. One of the stun bolts caught him in the arm, and he let out a grunt as numbness spread over the limb. "Pause," he called loudly. Standing in the doorway was his master, the Cathar Knight Samanya.

He bowed, barely reaching her height even stooped over. "Good to see you, Master. I trust you are well?" Vosh wiped sweat from his brow mid sentence, attempting to retake control of his breathing.

{ Samanya }

 

[Jiang Winters]

Samanya hadn't exactly wanted to take on a Padawan. She didn't feel ready; she needed more time to learn the ways of the Order and more time to find her own place in the galaxy. Her protests had fallen on deaf ears, though; Bahadur, a fellow knight whom she had trained with in the past, had sat her down and pored over the files of a dozen padawans with her until he found one he felt was suitable for her. By that point, the female had given up all hopes of contesting with Bahadur's indomitable will and somewhat reluctantly signed on as the master of a Togorian named 'Vosh'.

Supposedly he was a giant of a man, endowed with a powerful frame even sturdier than that of Bahadur's. He'd been a Jedi since the time he was a cub; years upon years longer than Samanya had been a Jedi. Despite that, she was far from intimidated. In fact, she was eager to meet him. His personality evaluation painted him as being rather similar to her brother, and so she hoped to get along with Vosh as well as she got along with her brother.

She arranged to meet him in one of the Temple's many training rooms shortly after midday - as she was still adjusting to Coruscant's time, midday at the temple was six or seven in the morning for her. She'd woken up just in time to shower, catch breakfast, and book it to the training room, a can of caffeine-laden ice cold soda clutched in her cybernetic hand. Sam hadn't even bothered trying to dress in her Jedi Knight's robes; she just pulled on her armorweave bodysuit and then slid into her Crusader armor, nix the armor plates and sleeves covering her arms.

The feline arrived at the training room in short order and palmed the door control switch. It slid open, revealing a scene of chaos; Vosh was being attacked by remotes, which mercilessly bombarded him with stun bolts. The noise of the opening door startled him, which gave a remote just enough of an opening to get a shot in on the big cat's arm. She winced sympathetically, but said nothing.

He greeted her. She smiled at him, chuckling as he addressed her formally. "I'm fine," she replied casually. "And you can call me Sam or Samanya. I'm not big on formalities," the feline remarked as an afterthought.

She strode into the room. As the door slid closed, she gave Vosh a quick once-over. He wasn't just big - he was huge. The hologram of him did him no justice; Vosh was easily one of the two biggest sentients she'd seen in her entire life. Intimidating as he was, though, she didn't fear him. She was merely in awe of his great size. As she continued to examine him, she noticed that the musclebound feline was drenched with sweat, his fur slicked down and plastering to the curvature of his rugged frame.

"Tiring yourself out before I can even get my paws on you, huh? You're no fun," she remarked jokingly. Before he had a chance to respond, Sam gestured towards the hovering remotes. "How long have you and these drones been going at it?"

 

[Brand]

Vosh stepped clear of Sam in only one step and ferociously shook himself, spraying sweat and water onto the walls. "Sorry, Sam," he said, the name not rolling off his tongue as comfortably as his Master would've wanted.

He eyed her warily as she continued to speak. "This is just practice!" he said, punctuating the phrase with a purring chuckle. "I woke at 6 and arrived here at... 7," remarked Vosh, his gaping slightly as he checked his chrono. "8:30... an hour and a half 'warm-up'... mmm..." Vosh shook his head in mock shame, winking slyly at his master. "My deepest apologies, Mast- Sam. Did you have anything planned for today, or are we going to continue to stand here and banter for the remainder of the sunlight?"

 

[Jiang Winters]

Sam chuckled silently and shook her head as Vosh apologized yet again. "An hour and a half warm up... You work too hard, big guy," the feline teased. She reached around to the rear of her armor's 'belt' and unclipped a canteen, which she seized with the Force and sent out to hover next to Vosh. "Sit down and drink up. You need to stay hydrated with a pelt like yours - you might even want to look into getting your fur trimmed short. It helps with cooling."

The Cathar folded her arms across her armor's chestplate. "Once you've rested a little, I want to gauge your abilities. I'd like to know how good you are with the Force and a Saber, what you know about the Jedi Codes and whatnot, and what you know about the Dark Side and emotions and why it's markedly more dangerous than the Light Side of the Force. Really basic stuff; I just need to know how much I have to teach you before we get started, that way I can work up a plan of action."

A smirk tugged at the edge of her lips and she hitched her shoulders. "Or," she said slowly, "I could sit down, turn on all the drones, sic 'em on ya, and then be a lazy bum and chatter away all day. So take your pick, big guy - training or humiliation at the hands of spherical droids of doom and destruction."

 

[Brand]

Vosh's lip curled up in a curt smile. "I'll choose the first, Sam." The Togorian gratefully snatched the canteen, which hung suspended from the air. He took a gracious gulp, licking his lips as it slid comfortably down his parched throat. After another, smaller sip he dumped the contents abrubtly over his head, soaking his fur. "A hair cut might not be such a bad idea... we'll see."

Vosh stepped backwards, coiling and uncoiling his slightly tense muscles. He called on the Force to rejuvenate his body, feeling it's warmth flow through him like a rushing river. His muscles, thoroughly relaxed and poised, now propelled him on as he extended his massive left hand to his side. Vosh's extended hilt lightsaber leapt into his outstretched hand, and simultaneously he flicked the large red button centered in the metal object. His icy blue blade jumped into existence, casting a light glow on the dark corners of the room.

Vosh dropped into a light fighting stance, bringing his lightsaber up into a typical Djem So guard. "Your move, Master," he said, an edge of playfulness accentuating the unwanted title.

 

[Jiang Winters]

"Mm, so that's how it is, huh?" she queried, her tail swishing slowly behind her. A playful smirk crept across her features and she reached for the side clasps on her armor. "Alright then. I guess I won't be needing this," she remarked. Four snaps later, her heavy armor fell from her torso, and her leg armor and boots followed suit in a matter of seconds. Now wearing just her sleeveless bodysuit and black pants, the feline felt much more maneuverable.

She plucked a pair of bracers out of her armor's 'backpack' and slid them on. "Much, much better," she purred. The female buckled the bracers down and flexed her hands, watching the armored plates covering her knuckles and the back of her hands shift with every motion. Made of cortosis weave, the lightweight bracers would help her to deflect his attacks, and the entirety of the left bracer was made with pure cortosis plate, capable of disabling a saber. A good trump card to pull, should she desire to play a bit underhanded.

Sam picked up her lightsabers, clipping her secondary to her belt and taking her primary into her right hand. She thumbed both to 'practice' mode, so that she wouldn't injure Vosh if she landed a strike - she expected him to do the same, of course. The female ignited her saber, the purple blade materializing with the snap-hiss that was so typical of lightsabers. "Let's see," she growled playfully whilst circling Vosh. "You're big. Strong. A feline, so you're obviously flexible... Typical Djem So stance, so you're bent on using your natural abilities to your advantage. But I'm small, fast, agile, and strong. I can dart in and out of your guard before you can react, I can evade your strikes, and I can move faster than you to outflank you. But! It's only too easy for you to knock me off guard with a powerful strike, pin me, and..."

She let her voice trail off and grinned. "Well, then I'm pretty much done for, especially since we both use the same style. This'll be interesting, Vosh."

The female continued to circle. She honestly wasn't sure how to proceed; big felines tended to be as fast as they were strong, and so Vosh had a physical advantage. After circling for a few time, and coming to absolutely no new conclusions, she finally decided to attack. With a frisky growl, she darted in and 'lunged' with her saber, aiming a horizontal slash designed to connect with his blade. She'd jump back the moment her strike connected, to put some distance between herself and Vosh. She knew she couldn't take the offensive until he was off the defensive - he was just too powerful to attack, because he could easily batter her weapon aside and take her down.

 

[Brand]

Vosh nodded, taking in the Cathar's evaluation without a word. The two circled in the room for another minute, both focused on each other. Vosh knew he need to make the first move, and, feeling attuned to the Force and his body's abilities, he coiled his leg muscles and propelled himself into the air.

Unexpectedness and surprise was his goal. He came down strong and swinging, bringing his saber down in an arc towards her middle torso. Vosh took a step back to give himself room and smiled. He'd hoped to catch her off guard, and now began to prepare himself for the onslaught he knew he was soon to face.

The giant Togorian watched his Master intently, waiting for her counterattack. He could tell from her agile step she would be fast, faster than him, and if she could get past his defenses, as she had said, he would be done for. Even as a padawan, though, the Jedi had been trained as a warrior by nature and he let his primal instincts mesh with the Force.

 

[Jiang Winters]

Samanya was surprised when Vosh seemingly ignored her as she launched into her attack and leaped into an assault of his own, but it was a pleasant surprise. It gave her the upper hand in more ways than one; her horizontal slash easily deflected his downwards strike, causing his blade to miss her altogether. Better still, it allowed her to put her blade on the inside of his guard, as it was angled down and against his blade, which would allow her to slide her weapon up to connect with his hands... Or to flick it forward and attack his legs.

From there, she moved with him as he stepped back. She snapped her blade hand forward, sliding it along his weapon for a moment before allowing it to go right for his legs. The brilliant sapphire beam would connect with his thighs, and with his blade positioned to her side, there was nothing he could realistically do to block her attack. Fortunately, her weapon was on a training setting and would do little more than numb both his legs.

 

[Brand]

(( Uggh, sorry dude, I totally missed your lunge in; my bad! ))

Vosh mentally berated himself, feeling the slight heat of shame rise in his cheeks. Fortunately his master pressed the attack, giving him little time to pity himself. He shook his head clear and calmed his mind.

Samanya moved quickly, following him in his retreat. Her small limbs moved quickly, but her strength that she put behind her assaults was surprising. Vosh was confident his master had her blade set to training as he had done, and he realized neither of them were in any immediate life threatening danger. Vosh side stepped to the right; he could distinctly feel the hairs on his left leg darken, burn, and crisp. The massive Togorian grinned, feeling the rhythm of the battle in his muscles. Vosh brought his lightsaber up over his head and rained blows upon his master, sending a right slash towards her waist followed up by a quick slice to her neck. He followed through with the cut, bringing it down past her neck and back into a defensive position. Vosh growled in excitement; both were committed to the battle now, and from this point he knew neither would hold anything back.

 

[Jiang Winters]

[Not a problem. Just a note, you're doing a little too much in each fight post and you didn't explain Vosh's evasion of Sam's strike in much detail. As a rule of thumb, if you make an attack that can be blocked, then that's your only strike for that turn. You can (and probably should) add in what your character would do in the event that the blow hit or in the event that it missed altogether or was deflected, but generally you can't string together attacks since you need to give your opponent a chance to block. For example, watch what happens in this post, when Sam does something that would completely disrupt your second attack...]

Samanya frowned as Vosh managed to narrowly evade her attack, the female's tail swishing. He raised his blade above his head and struck, again to his right; her left. Right where her pure cortosis bracer was. Her frown turned into a wild grin as his blade came in. As she had been wielding her saber one handed, her left hand was free to strike back; she raised her arm, bringing the cortosis bracer into play. His blade splashed across it, flickered, and died, allowing her arm to pass through as if nothing had happened at all; no lightsaber, no matter how well constructed or how carefully designed, could remain functional after contact with pure cortosis. It would be disabled, but only for a few minutes - minutes in which she could rain blows with utter impunity.

Eager to see how he'd react to this new development, she made a clumsy stab at his shoulder with the tip of her saber, deliberately leaving herself open to be physically seized and disarmed. If her suspicions about Vosh were correct, then he'd use his remaining momentum from his attack and his superior reach to dart in, seize her blade hand, and try to regain the upper hand from there. Of course, he could still surprise her in other ways; that was simply the attack she was anticipating from him.

[Like so! You've got the basics down just fine, it's just that you can't make too many strikes because it puts your opponent in the awkward position of having to go, 'umm, okay, so attack -x- never happened because I blocked attack -y-, sooo...' Anywho, continue on, Whest. ^_^]